page_title: 2018 Turkish presidential election
section_title: Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)
hierarchical_section_title: 2018 Turkish presidential election / Candidates / Selection process / Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)
caption_attribution_description: English: HDP co-leader Sezai Temelli conducting pre-election meetings with local activists in Diyarbakır
context_page_description: The 2018 Turkish presidential election took place on 24 June 2018 as part of the 2018 general election, alongside parliamentary elections on the same day. Following the approval of constitutional changes in a referendum held in 2017, the elected President will be both the head of state and head of government of Turkey, taking over the latter role from the to-be-abolished office of the Prime Minister.
  The election was originally scheduled for November 2019. Despite insistence from the government that they would not be brought forward, speculation over an early vote continued since the 2017 referendum. After calls from Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahçeli for a snap election, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on 18 April 2018 that it would take place on 24 June.
  Incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared his candidacy for the People's Alliance on 27 April 2018. Erdoğan’s main opposition, the Republican People's Party, nominated Muharrem İnce, a member of the parliament known for his combative opposition and spirited speeches against Erdoğan. The Peoples' Democratic Party nominated the imprisoned ex-chairman Selahattin Demirtaş.
context_section_description: The HDP nominated Selahattin Demirtaş, their former leader who was also the HDP's candidate in 2014, on 4 May. It was reported that the party executive had broadly agreed on Demirtaş earlier, raising concern that his preventative detention since 2016 could potentially bar him from running. Originally due in court on 11 April, Demirtaş's trial for charges of 'spreading terrorist propaganda' was delayed to 30 April, and then again to 8 June. His candidacy was announced as a part of a 'broad coalition of Kurdish and left-wing parties'. His lawyers and HDP officials claimed that his detention wouldn't affect his candidacy. In his first message after announcing his candidacy, he called on his supporters to be his 'hands and arms' during the campaign.
caption: HDP co-leader Sezai Temelli meeting party activists in Diyarbakır on 30 April to gauge views on their presidential candidate
exif: {"Image Make": "samsung", "Image Model": "SM-N950F", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "N950FXXS3CRD2", "Image DateTime": "2018:04:30 20:20:53", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "214", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[37, 54, 48]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "E", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[40, 13, 1]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "1", "GPS GPSAltitude": "0", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[17, 20, 33]", "GPS GPSDate": "2018:04:30", "Image GPSInfo": "898", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1212", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "13429", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/14", "EXIF FNumber": "17/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:04:30 20:20:53", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:04:30 20:20:53", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "191/50", "EXIF ApertureValue": "153/100", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "-39/50", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "153/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "43/10", "EXIF SubSecTime": "0606", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "0606", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "0606", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4032", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1960", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "838", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "26", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "G12LLKA01VM G12LLKL01GM", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "0"}